The world-renowned scientific journal "Nature" published an article on 12/11 introducing the decentralized science (DeSci) project ResearchHub. ResearchHub allows research workers to earn cryptocurrency by reviewing papers. As the century-old scientific journal Nature, as well as Binance founder CZ, Ethereum founder Vitalik, and Coinbase CEO Armstrong, have endorsed DeSci, DeSci is gradually entering the mainstream view, also announcing that blockchain technology will change the future research ecosystem.
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ToggleThe century-old scientific journal Nature focuses on, and peer reviewers earn Tokens through ResearchHub
Nature published an article about ResearchHub on 12/11 in its own journal, emphasizing how it provides compensation for scientific peer reviewers. Peer reviewers can earn $150 worth of ResearchCoin (RSC) Tokens for each paper they review, benefiting many research scholars.
For example, the molecular biology consultant Pedro Paulo Gattai Gomes from São Paulo, Brazil, now earns more from reviewing papers on ResearchHub than his previous salary at an academic institution.
He told Nature, "It's quite fair to work hard and get paid. But when I work for free and don't get the appreciation I deserve, that's very unfair to me."
Coinbase CEO endorses, please recognize the rights and interests of peer reviewers
ResearchHub caught the interest of Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong when it launched in 2020. Armstrong emphasized that scientific peer review is valuable work, and receiving compensation is quite reasonable. Armstrong said at the ResearchHub Journal news conference in San Francisco on 11/30, "It's quite strange that peer reviewers don't get paid, and we should recognize this and acknowledge and reward their contributions."
The process of converting Tokens to fiat currency is complex, and ResearchHub has collaborated with CEX to optimize
Although ResearchHub has attracted the attention of mainstream academic media, Nature also raised some issues. Nature stated that the process of converting $RSC to fiat currency is still not very user-friendly for many researchers.
They need to convert $RSC to BTC or ETH through decentralized exchanges like Uniswap, and then transfer to a centralized exchange to exchange for fiat currency. ResearchHub has simplified the process, and the $RSC Token was officially listed on the centralized exchange Gate.io on 11/29.
Encourage collaboration and innovation, charge fees and give back to the community
ResearchHub not only pays review fees, but also provides other interaction and incentive mechanisms. ResearchHub will charge a 7% fee on each $RSC transaction, and then allocate 2% of the fees back to the community.
Since May 2023, ResearchHub has already applied these mechanisms to the review service for preprints, also providing compensation for peer reviewers. However, Nature also pointed out that ResearchHub has not yet been included in mainstream literature databases, which may affect its credibility in the academic community.
(Note: Preprints refer to academic research papers that have not yet been officially published.)
DeSci solves the pain points of traditional scientific research, and the market value has exceeded $1.2 billion
Decentralized Science (DeSci) has received a lot of attention in recent years, aiming to solve problems such as lack of funding, insufficient data sharing, and collaboration difficulties in traditional scientific research. The current applications of DeSci include accelerating research development, reducing the cost of genetic testing, and even developing biotechnology for hair loss treatment.
Currently, the market value of DeSci-related Tokens exceeds $1.2 billion, with the Token $RSC of ResearchHub having a market value of nearly $100 million, and rising nearly 20% to $1.01 within a day after the Nature report.
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